Doors of Closed Pasts
by PrinceSoma
Summary: A fan-interquel to Lynxgriffin's Dogs of Future Past, set after the supplement story "Truth or Dare." Some things are better left in the past. But the pain is pushing Frisk against the door, and they may not have a choice but to let their friends in if they're ever going to get any sort of closure- and Flowey's going to have quite the headache throughout most of it.
1. Hunger Pains

_AN: So, this is an incomplete story I've been working on for a while, based on Lynxgriffin's amazing_ Undertale _webcomic_ Dogs of Future Past _, which I highly recommend you read if you haven't already (seriously it's AMAZING). This story takes place after the supplementary story_ Truth or Dare _, where Frisk revealed to Flowey the sordid details of their past. The idea that came to me immediately after was "What if talking to Flowey wasn't enough?"_

 _Now, I don't want to come off as "fixing" anything plot-wise,_ **FAR** _from it. I was just mostly curious about what would happen if Frisk (without mentioning things only Flowey would get) confided in the other monsters about their past? They_ are _the kids surrogate family, after all. I thought it had a lot of potential for some really sweet moments and the story just kinda took off from there._

Dogs of Future Past _and its ideas belong to Lynxgriffin._ Undertale _belongs to Toby Fox. Please support the original creators. With that said, enjoy and give me whatever criticisms you feel necessary!_

* * *

Flowey was close to losing his mind.

Earlier that day, he had requested to Toriel that he'd be placed in front of the TV before she left for work, something he often did when Frisk was at school or if he didn't feel like practicing with his new leaves. There was only one problem. Toriel had been in a hurry this morning, so as she was racing out the door, she'd asked the only other person in the room if they could help Flowey for her. That person happened to be Sans.

So when Frisk walked in a few hours later, they found Flowey on a high chair about two centimeters away from the TV screen, which had been set to the 24-hour infomercial channel.

"FRISK!" Flowey shot up, turning to face the human with heavy bags under his eyes. "Thank god! Make the pain stop before I kill myself!"

A smile of amusement appeared on Frisk's face as they took Flowey's pot off the chair and placed it on the couch. The flower heaved a sigh of relief as Frisk switched over to a different channel.

"The next time I see that skeleton, I'm going to throw my dirt in his stupid eye sockets." Flowey grumbled as Frisk flopped down beside him. He shuddered. "They had a special on pedi-eggs that lasted for three hours! _Three hours_ , Frisk! That's three hours of close-ups on someones nasty, gross feet getting cleaned!"

Frisk made a small noise in their throat.

"And all this time I've been missing _my_ feet." Flowey looked down at his stem, sticking his tongue out. "Yyyech! That's one perk of being a flower– I don't have to worry about what's going on down there."

Frisk grunted again.

"I'll be lucky to never have feet again–" Flowey paused, turning to look at Frisk, who was staring at the TV. Their normally stoic expression seemed more blank than usual. Flowey frowned, leaning over to poke them with one of his petals. "Hey! Are you even listening?"

"Huh?" Frisk jerked their head around to look at Flowey, snapping out of their funk. "Oh, right, um… you wanted a pedicure…?"

Flowey rolled his eyes. "Ugh, nevermind. I should know better to talk to you when your dumb cartoons are on…" His voice trailed off as he noticed the stern looking suit-clad individuals on the screen. "Wait, why are you watching _the news?_ "

Frisk folded their hands together, laying their back against the sofa. Something about the way they looked and spoke seemed distant. "…Just curious…"

Flowey raised an eyebrow at Frisk's odd behavior, but shrugged it off, figuring that it must have been a long day at school for them and was just tired. He turned his attention to the tv, feeling that the weather would make a much more interesting topic than hours of mindless consumerism.

" _…currently at fifty-five degrees fahrenheit, with highs of sixty by noon…_ "

 _By noon?_ Flowey glanced at the skull-shaped clock Sans had gotten Toriel as a gift, now hanging on the wall where Flowey had to look at it every day. It's big, googly eyes shifted side-to-side every time a second went by, and inside its mouth Flowey could see the hands reading 11:18.

"It's not two PM?" Flowey said, bewildered yet somewhat relieved. He looked at Frisk in confusion. "And here I thought you walking in meant I'd spent _half a day_ in hell! What are you doing home so early?"

Frisk said nothing. They were holding one of the sofa pillows to their chest, and Flowey's question elicited them to hug it tighter. Something about that looked awfully familiar to Flowey, but he couldn't put his finger on it– ignoring the fact that he didn't have fingers.

"What's up with you? You're acting weird today."

The child slouched, sinking deeper into the cushion. They made another little noise in their throat. "It's… it's nothing, Flowey. Don't worry about it."

Flowey raised a skeptical eyebrow, lip protruding slightly. "You seem pretty upset over nothing."

"I'm not upset," Frisk said, sighing. They brought their hand to rub their forehead. "It's just… today is…"

"What?" Flowey leaned forward. "What's today?"

"…Today is the day that Jacob died."

"J…" Flowey's expression fell as realization hit him square in the face. "…Oh."

He whipped around to look at the calendar. It had been some time since Frisk had told him the story of his first kill during a game of truth or dare in their little fort. Since that night, it was never brought up again, no further details such as to _when_ it exactly happened were explained, and Flowey figured that finally having someone to tell their story to was enough for Frisk to move on. Gluping, he turned back around to look at Frisk.

"Jeez… that's… hmm."

There was an awkward silence that lingered between the two, disrupted only by the TV that they decided to direct all their attention towards.

"…So, do you, I dunno," Flowey said after a minute or two. "You wanna talk about it or something?"

Frisk shook their head. "It's nothing to worry about."

"I'm not _worried_." Flowey snorted. "I just don't want you to be all mopey and sad for the whole day."

"I won't be, I promise," Frisk said, shifting to give them a weak smile. "It still hurts… a lot, and it's hard to not think about it on a day like today, but… you've already helped. I know you can't feel sorry for me or find a way to comfort me, but you don't need to. Knowing you understand what I'm feeling is enough."

Flowey frowned. "But it isn't, because you wouldn't have left school early otherwise."

The smile dropped from Frisk's face for a split-second. They looked away from Flowey, scratching their head with a little laugh. "Wow… now I know how _Sans_ feels."

"CHOW TIME, PUNKS!"

Out of nowhere, Undyne barged through the door– after kicking it open, of course, making Frisk and Flowey jump. Undyne hopped over the couch and sat between them, placing a greasy brown bag decorated with Mettaton's face down on the coffee table. Frisk and Flowey shared a look, mentally agreeing that their conversation would have to wait.

"Sausage-egg-and-cheese MTT Muffins!" Undyne shouted, grinning. "Get 'em while they're hot and the glue hasn't solidified yet!"

Flowey stared at the bag the same way one stares into a fridge with an unopened container way in the back, feeling the same lingering sense of dread of checking to see what's in it. Undyne yanked out what was presumably a breakfast sandwich and took a huge bite. Glittery, white juice dribbled down her chin and on to the carpet.

"Hey Frisk," Undyne whipped her head around, sending a fleck of grease right into Flowey's eye. "Betcha I can eat more of these babies than you in thirty seconds!"

"I thought you hated Metaton's food?" Frisk asked with a bemused grin.

"ISH EARLY MORNIG!" Undyne shouted through six sandwiches. "I HAFF NO SHTANDARD WHEN AHM TIRED!"

She swallowed her food in one go, her neck bulging like an anaconda as it passed into her gut. As she patted her stomach with a contented sigh, Flowey was growing increasingly more horrified.

"Besides," Undyne shot Frisk a smirk. "You're the one who likes dog biscuits."

"Oh, brother," Flowey groaned. "We're never gonna live this down, are we?"

Undyne let out a hearty laugh. "I'm just messing with you guys! Compared to what I've seen humans eat since we got here, I'm not surprised you prefer dog food!" She pulled out a handful of treats from her pocket and dropped them on the table. "Here, I bummed these off of Doggo yesterday. Some of them are kinda burnt, but still."

Flowey considered the treats for a moment. With a resigned huff, he picked one up with his mouth and started to chew on it. Undyne looked at Frisk with an excited grin. "The challenge still stands if…"

Her voice trailed off, and her smile faded. Flowey looked up. At some point, Frisk had gone back into vegetable mode, staring ahead at the tv with the same tired expression as before.

"Hey, Frisk," Undyne waved a hand in front of Frisk's eyes. "You okay?"

Frisk regarded her for a second. "I'm… not very hungry right now."

Flowey looked surprised as Undyne turned to him, apparently wanting an explanation. As annoying as all of this was, he wasn't about to break his bond with Frisk. It had already been hard enough dealing with the aftermath of Chara revealing **his** identity to Toriel and Asgore. He wouldn't put Frisk through that. He couldn't.

So he curled his lip at Undyne, shrugging his leaves. She looked at him for a moment, then back to Frisk, a hand going to her chin. A devious grin began to form on her face.

Picking up one of the biscuits, Undyne slowly brought it over to Frisk's face. "Heeeere doggy…"

Frisk's mouth twitched. Undyne started to poke them in the cheek repeatedly. Flowey rolled his eyes.

"Who's a good puppy?" Undyne said as she kept poking them, a laugh brewing in her throat. "Who's a good pup?"

With difficulty, Frisk resisted a smile. "Quit it."

"Eat it!" Undyne leaned closer, trying to get the treat past Frisk's lips. "Eat the cookie!"

Frisk turned their head sharply as a grin was finally cracking through their stoic demeanor. Undyne pulled back with a wicked glint in her eye.

"Ahh, I see," She said thoughtfully. "I know why you wont eat…"

There was a pause, and then Frisk yelped as Undyne grabbed them from behind and pulled them into her chest. "YOU WANT A _TUMMY RUB_ FIRST!"

Frisk shrieked with laughter as Undyne's hand squeezed their belly, moving up and down in a rapid motion. They tried to pull away, only for Undyne's arm to snake around their chest, pulling Frisk against her.

"Noooo!" Frisk gasped for air, trying to pry out of Undyne's grip. "Help! Flowey, help me!"

The flower simply watched all of this with a half-lidded expression of incredulity. "You people are _morons_."

"Yeah, a real couple of buf- _foods_ , ain't they?"

Flowey swiveled towards the familiar baritone behind him, teeth becoming sharp as daggers. "YOU!"

"Me." said Sans, giving Flowey his never-changing cheeky grin. He was sitting at his side with his arm resting casually on the coffee table like he'd been there the entire time, holding an open packet of ketchup in his hand. "How was the marathon?"

Flowey's response was to shriek with rage, hurling clods of dirt into the skeleton's face. Sans chuckled as he shielded himself from the flower's onslaught, needing only one boney hand to block the tiny clumps Flowey's petals were capable of grabbing. Meanwhile, Frisk had gotten the upper hand over Undyne, sitting on top of her with their knees in her chest.

"Ha! Got you now!" Frisk laughed, shoving a handful of dog biscuits into Undyne's face. "Time to feed the fish!"

"Ack! Stoppit!" Undyne spat, finding it difficult to avoid the treats with her huge mouth. Despite knowing fully well that she could throw Frisk off of her with obvious ease if she wanted to, she held her hands in front of her face, pretending to be powerless under their tiny frame. Perhaps she did too well, as a biscuit ended up jamming itself in her good eye. "OW!" Undyne's hands flew to her face, breaking character for a second. "Alright, that's it!"

Undyne suddenly heaved herself upward, sending Frisk flying backwards so that their spots were now switched. Though she was still playing around, the pain in Undyne's eye kept an annoyed grimace stuck on her face as she loomed over the kid. "Now you're gonna get what's coming–"

 _ **"NO!"**_

Undyne reeled back at Frisk's sudden shriek, eyes widening. Flowey and Sans stopped fighting, snapping their heads around. Frisk was laying on their back and clutching their shirt as if their heart was about to explode from their chest. Flowey couldn't help but recoil at the look of absolute panic and terror on Frisk's face and the familiar positions they and Undyne were in. The child glanced at the biscuit in their hand and immediately dropped it with a startled whimper.

"Hey," Sans said, holding out a tentative hand. "You okay, kid?"

Frisk sat up straight. They were trembling all over. Trying to speak only resulted in a few cracked syllables which Flowey recoiled at, sensing that the floodgates were about to break open.

Undyne held up her hands quickly. "Hey, uh… no worries, Frisk, I'm alright!" She smiled weakly, pointing at her eye. "See? Just got some crumbs in it, that's all. No hard feelings…"

It didn't seem to help. Frisk took a weary glance over at Flowey, who could only stare back with a helpless, exasperated frown. Frisk's adams apple bobbed up and down before they got off the couch and started making their way towards the hallway, muttering an apology as they disappeared behind the corner.

There was an awkward silence as everyone stared at the spot where Frisk had just been. They all turned to look at each other in bewilderment.

"Geez," Undyne said, scratching her neck. "I hope I didn't scare the kid…"

Flowey scoffed, trying to clear the air of awkwardness. "Please, the only thing scary about you is your obviously terrible dental plan."

"Hey, my mouth is like a fortress of pearly white stalagmites!" Undyne snapped. "When it comes to brushing, you go hard or go home!"

"Maybe it was your breath, then." Flowey said, smirking.

"That–" Undyne paused in the middle of yelling to quickly huff into her palm and sniff it before turning back to Flowey. "That's a load of crap!"

"Nightmares."

They both looked at Sans, who seemed deep in thought as he rubbed his chin. Both Flowey and Undyne knew that when Sans got quiet like this, it usually meant serious business.

"Toriel mentioned to me that Frisk's been having trouble sleeping lately. Bad dreams. Stuff like that. I can't help but wonder if maybe what we just saw had something to do with it."

Flowey suddenly remembered all the times in the past month or so he had woken up in the middle of the night due to Frisk's moaning and constant thrashing around in their sleep. It had been irritating at first, in a similar fashion to a neighbor's cat meowing non-stop outside the window. Flowey's solution was similarly simple: grab the nearest heavy object, hurl it at their head, and tell them to shut up in a half-asleep mumble before nodding off. The next morning, Frisk would be the same as they'd always been, without showing any signs that something was bothering them.

But Flowey now realized, after everything that had happened today, that Frisk had been dreading this day far longer than he had ever noticed.

"You look like you got somethin' on your mind, buddy."

Flowey's head snapped up. Undyne and Sans were looking at him.

"You got any idea what's goin' on with Frisk?" The skeleton asked, eyeing Flowey carefully.

Flowey gritted his teeth, his head darting back and forth between the two as they watched him expectantly. "I…" He stammered, trying to come up with something. _**Anything**_ that would allow them to freaking help this poor kid already. But there wasn't even a little hint he could give to the other monsters that wouldn't be breaking his promise to Frisk. With a short sigh, Flowey's face fell into a frustrated grimace.

"No."


	2. Hey Teacher, Leave Them Kids Alone

"…A-And so, if we, uh… if we compare M-Mew Mew Kissy Cutie to it's i… inferior sequel," Alphys stammered, fumbling with the remote control for the powerpoint show illuminating the screen behind her. "You get a m-much clearer idea of w-why humans and m-monsters were able to co-exist together so easily after we… uh, the monsters, emerged from the uh-underground."

She gave a nervous grin to the classroom full of confused human and monster children before her. At the back of the room, Toriel was looking on with a skeptical brow raised.

Alphys cleared her throat. "Uhh… c-can anybody tell me why… t-that is?"

A little girl with pigtails raised her hand. Alphys identified her as Shanna, allowing her to stand up. Shanna's face was scrunched up as if she were trying to come up with her answer right on the spot.

"Umm… I think it means that… we couldn't have had a second war with the monsters because… it would have been really, _really_ bad."

Some of the students giggled at the simplicity of the answer, but Toriel smiled. "That is a very good point, dear," She said, walking between the row of Desks. "If it were anything like Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2, it would have been a truly insufferable and relentlessly nauseating war."

A huge grin appeared on the little girl's face as she sat down.

"Th-That's right!" Alphys said, finding her wind again. "It would have been awful. A-And that's because, uh, because it means the humans wouldn't have learned from the past! Because, when Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 was made– okay, so before that, the uh… the production team worked on this other show called, uh, _B-Battlemoon Tamago_ , and it was really good, but only because the original m-mangaka helped write it, but then they fired him after season 3, so the show got, just, INCREDIBLY stupid, and tanked really bad, and the production company almost went out of business before they chose to adapt Mew Mew Kissy C–"

" _Ahem_."

Alphys blinked, turning to look at Toriel, who was tapping the side of her wrist. Alphys felt her face flush with color as she grinned sheepishly at her befuddled pupils.

"Um… okay, so the point I'm trying to say is," Alphys took a deep breath, rubbing her thumb over the remotes buttons. "Is th-that the most important thing in the world f-for humans and monsters i-is for us to listen to each other. And! A-And to understand one another! Because– hoo boy– like Mew Mew says…"

There was a click, followed by an image of a neon-pink anime nightmare sliding on to the powerpoint screen, winking at its viewers.

" _Mimi ga nakute mo, anata wa mada kikubekidesu~!_ "

"O-Oh no, I used the wrong audio file!" Alphys yelped. She turned to the students with a nervous laugh. "Uh, she said 'whether you have ears or not, you should always listen to one another'! W-Well, technically it's not the exact translation, b-but…"

The bell rang, signaling the end of class for the day. Alphys shrunk back as Toriel bid her students goodbye, feeling the dreaded after-presentation 'I-just-made-myself-look-stupid' feelings begin to eat away at her insides. Just as she was about to starting inwardly berating herself, however, she felt a little hand tap her on the shoulder. Alphys turned to see Shanna, the girl from earlier, looking coy with her hands behind her back.

"That was a lot of fun," She said. "I've seen a little of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie before, but I wasn't really interested before today! I was wondering, should I keep watching the English version, or start over with the original Japanese?"

Alphys' demeanor brightened in an instant. "Oh! I-I'm so glad you liked it! Yeah, I would check out the, uh, original version first! Then you can compare the two afterword to see which one you like better!"

Toriel smiled as the two went back and forth on the topic of voice actors and localization for the next minute or two, even if she didn't quite understand the subject matter to the same extent. Both of them got so caught up in their discussion that by the time Shanna actually looked at the clock, it had nearly been twenty minutes since the bell rang.

"Oh shoot, gotta go," She said, getting up to head for the door. "We'll talk more about next time I see you… uh, I _will_ get to see you next time, right?"

Alphys hesitated to answer, looking at Toriel nervously. She smiled again, nodding reassuringly.

"Oh, a-absolutely!" Alphys said. "T-Toriel and I will have another lesson next week!"

"Ok, great!" Shanna said, still looking at Alphys as she walked towards the door. "I'll see you then!"

"Ok!"

"Oh, and I'll be sure to watch the original!"

"Great!"

"I'll tell you what I think–"

Shanna turned around and bonked her head into the door frame with a little "Oof" before turning back with a sheepish grin. She scooted to the side and gave a little wave. "Uh, bye."

With the classroom empty at last, Alphys let out a long breath of relief, her body going slack like a deflating balloon. She removed her glasses to wipe them against her lab coat. "Well, that wasn't embarrassing at all…"

"I agree," Toriel said, either missing the sarcasm completely or trying to play it off as she gathered up her paperwork for the day. "I thought you made quite an impact on the children."

"I dunno…" Alphys said glumly, beginning to pack up all the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie-related memorabilia she had brought in to help with the lesson. "W-what if they think… I don't know, what if it seemed… _weird_ to them?"

"Well, I do not think Shanna thought it was weird at all."

"True…"

"And if she liked it, I'm sure the others did as well. They just didn't say so." Toriel placed a hand on Alphy's shoulder, smiling. "If there is one thing I've learned over time, it's that sometimes expressing themselves is difficult for a child. They have all these emotions, but do not know how to convey them properly."

"I-I guess so," Alphys said, giving Toriel a small smile of her own. "I guess you're lucky Frisk isn't like that, huh?"

The smile instantly faded from Toriel's face. She turned away, hugging her paperwork to her chest and sighing. Alphys tilted her head in concern as they headed out into the hallway, the air growing notably awkward around them. Alphys began fiddling with her claws, breaking into a cold sweat.

 _She really IS still mad at me for what happened_ , She thought. Feeling herself hunching over more than usual, Alphys muttered a soft "I-I'm sorry…"

"Hm?" Toriel glanced at her side before realizing what Alphys was saying, picking herself up best she could. "Oh, no no no, it's alright! My apologies, Alphys, I was just thinking about what you said. Normally you are right, Frisk is quite different from other children, but lately…" Toriel's pace slowed as she became crestfallen again. "Something is wrong."

Alphys lifted herself immediately. "W… What do you mean?"

"It is hard to describe," Toriel said. "But you can see it in the way Frisk carries themself. They hardly speak unless spoken to… They seem to have no appetite half the time… I have asked them time and time again if they are not feeling well, yet Frisk insists they are fine."

The two of them stopped in front of the exit, facing each other. For the first time, Alphys noticed the heavy bags under Toriel's eyes as the taller monster cast her weary head downwards.

"I received a phone call this morning," Toriel said, her voice low and quiet. "Frisk had to leave school early."

"Did something happen?"

"I was only told that Frisk felt very sick during recess and requested they go home." Toriel said. "But when I met with them, I knew right away they were not sick. Their eyes were red, as if they had been rubbing them continuously to hide their tears. Again I asked them to tell me what was wrong– no, I _begged_ them to tell me what was happening to them. But Frisk only said to me that I would not understand."

Toriel's breath became shaky, almost as if she was going to start crying herself. "I regret how I behaved afterwords. It was not right. But…" She grimaced. "I felt so _angry_ with them… angry and hurt that they would imply that I would not understand that kind of pain."

Alphys drew back in alarm. "Y-You two had a ffight?"

Toriel shook her head. "I refused to speak with them afterword. In my bitterness, I felt that I was giving them what they wanted." She shied away from Alphy's surprised face when she said "I suppose you of all people would understand what I mean, don't you? You and Asgore both…"

"Oh, T- _Toriel!_ " Alphys said, waving her hands reassuringly. "You don't need to–"

"No, I do." Toriel said, removing her spectacles to wipe her eyes. "I was terrible to you when Frisk went looking for Gaster. I know how I am sometimes. Resentful, begrudging, hostile… I know with Asgore, a part of it is justified, but it does not excuse me from unwarranted cruelty. I… I never truly apologized to you for how I acted, Alphys. If you can forgive me, I…"

"Of course I can!" Alphys said, immediately grabbing Toriel's hands. "I-I understand why you did it, I really do! A-And I want to help, or make it up to you a-anyway I can!"

Toriel gave Alphys' hands an appreciative squeeze. "My dear, you are always too hard on yourself. You've more than made up for what happened. Giving lessons to the children, helping me with my schoolwork–"

Toriel gasped, standing up straight. "The _meeting!_ "

"Huh?"

"I had completely forgotten," Toriel said, rubbing the side of her head. "I was requested to take part in a discussion between the school staff and the _Ethical Altruistic Treatment of Every Monster and Underground Person_ organization."

Alphys winced. "Oh n-no…"

Toriel nodded, grimacing. "I am afraid whatever plans I may have had tonight will have to be cancelled in favor of listening to humans explain to me, for several hours, how I am to 'correctly' educate my own species."

Alphys winced even harder. "Ohh, _nooooooo_ …"

The older monster shrugged, sighing. "It is not so terrible. They are well-meaning, if not misguided. Still…" She rested her cheek against her hand with a worried expression. "I just wish I could talk to Frisk again and make sure they are alright. It would put my mind much at ease."

There was a long pause between them. Alphys awkwardly glanced side to side before clearing her throat.

"Er, would you l-like me to, uh… w-watch them tonight?"

Toriel blinked at her before bringing her hand to her mouth with a surprised "Oh!" as she realized the unintentional implications of her words. "Oh dear, I am so sorry, I did not mean–"

"Nononono!" Alphys said, smiling quickly. "I-It's fine! It's fine! A-After… what you said, I really want to make sure they're okay too!"

Toriel didn't return the smile, casting her gaze to the floor. "But you have already done so much for me these past few months…"

"I-It's really no trouble!" Alphys said. "Besides, y-you know how I like hanging out with Frisk! Undyne, too… speaking of which, she sh-should have already brought the food like you asked, so… so if I ask, I'm sure she'll stay!" Alphys' expression perked up, replacing uncomfortable reassurance for genuine excitement. "I-It'll be fun! We'll have ourselves a little sleepover, watch movies, a-and… and we'll make sure Frisk is happy, I promise!"

Toriel listened to all this in silence as a look of motherly affection filled her eyes. Afterword, she gave a short laugh, shaking her head.

"It is funny," She said. "That those few months ago, I had forbid you from going anywhere near Frisk. Now I am asking you to help them by doing the exact opposite."

Though the words were meant to be comforting, Alphys could feel the excitement that had been building recede, and she shrunk back down to her usual hunch. A slight sense of discomfort formed into a ball of pain in her gut that wasn't going to leave if she didn't try to let it out.

"I… I know I screwed up," She said. "I should have known it was a bad idea, b-but I just wanted to help, and… I-I dunno, I just…" She shuffled her feet as the words in her head became muddled with anxiety. Biting her lip, Alphys finally said, "I just want people to not hate me…"

Alphys let out a surprised 'ack!' as she was suddenly jerked forward and pulled into a soft embrace.

"My dear, nobody could ever possibly hate you," Toriel said. Her words were as silky smooth as the fur on her hand, which was patting Alphys' head gingerly. "What happened back then… it was nobody's fault. I should not have made you feel like it was. Can you accept this old lady's apology and know that I trust you to keep my child safe?"

Alphy's was stunned for a moment, feeling the warmth from the embrace filling her cheeks. Excitement once again rushed through her as she pulled back, beaming.

"Yeah! A-Absolutely!"

"Good." Toriel said. The look on her face was brighter, less tired than before as she beamed back.

Alphys put a claw to her chin. "Although I suppose if you want to get technical, it _was_ Frisk's fault–"

Without changing her cheery expression, Toriel shoved Alphys' face back into a hug, squeezing tight enough to make the befuddled lizard's eye bug out.

"Do not ruin the moment, sweetheart."


End file.
